This paper use rhetorical criticism methodology when investigating linguistic and rhetorical means in the reportage genre. The concept of eye-witness is explored in six reportage from the GDR-propaganda published in 1962. Through analysis of dialogue and perception in text, the notion of presence is discussed. An assumption is that presence in text can be of paramount importance for the technique of persuasion. It  is claimed that presence might be communicated though dialogues. However the main impact of presence is connected to the perceptivity of the narrator. Values and arguments are highly emphasized when detailed descriptions are experienced by the narrator. Consequently the conclusion of the analysis is associated with the rhetorical concept evidentia. Finally it is claimed that the GDR-propaganda use reportage from industries and construction sites to show western countries the advantages of East German version of socialism. The concept of political myth is introduced and is in the final discussion connected to the myth of technical development and the myth of progress. The theoretical frame-work consists of rhetoric, linguistics, and literary studies.